Across the United States, state fairs have become a welcomed institution. In 1933’s State Fair, based on the novel by Philip Strong, you may find some old and outdated traditions mixed in with the ones that have lasted. Side shows and trapeze artists have since been traded in for demolition derbies and local talent concerts. But there are still ribbons ready to be given for the best livestock, produce and cooks. And the midway is still full of games, thrills and romance.

The story centers around the Frake family from Iowa. Pa, Able (Will Rogers), is getting their hog, Blue Boy, ready and hoping for a blue ribbon. Ma, Melissa (Louise Dresser), is preparing her minced meat recipe, fretting over whether or not to add brandy to earn a ribbon herself. Their son, Walter (Norman Foster) has been practicing since the last fair to win big at the ring toss booth. And their daughter, Margy (Janet Gaynor), has a suitor who proposes marriage. She will give him an answer when her family comes back from the fair.

Adventures and romance unfold at the fairgrounds. Pa spends most of his time at the livestock yard fretting over Blue Boy. While Walter is busy cleaning out the ring toss booth, he meets a beautiful trapeze performer (Sally Eilers). And when she is not doing women’s work with Ma at camp, Margy meets a charming newspaper boy, Pat (Lew Ayres) on the roller coaster. It seems romance blooms easily at the fairgrounds, but will it last when the fair is over?

Without getting caught up in how everything is so outdated, State Fair is quite a fun film. In fact, some of the old-timey phrases are a riot; what exactly does canoodling mean anyway? The family works well together and giving each character individual problems keeps all of them interesting. The mix of teenage fair romance with ma and pa’s wholesome competition is a great balance. And I certainly did not expect to see the hogs oinking in conversation, much less a hog fight.

In all, I was glad to find State Fair, and very happy that TCM premiered it during their 31 Days of Oscar. For me, TCM’s 31 Days of Oscar is like Christmas time, only with better TV programing to tune into. Throughout this month of celebrating Academy recognized movies, there will be plenty of films that I have reviewed here, as well as some that I have been searching for (like this one), and some wonderful gems that I plan to see and write about. Time to enjoy!

Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) has an interesting, baseball-laced background. His father had a brief career as a minor league baseball player and tried to pass down the traditional American love of baseball down to Ray, but as a rebellious teen about to throw himself completely into the hippie lifestyle of the sixties, Ray wanted nothing to do with his father or baseball. Now, at age thirty-six, Ray is a pretty normal guy with a wife, Annie (Amy Madigan) and a little girl, Karin (Gaby Hoffmann). He decides to become a farmer in Iowa and soon, starts hearing a voice in his cornfield.

“If you build it, he will come.” The voice is vague, mysterious and rather haunting, Ray can’t find a way to shake it. Through a vision, he figures out that the ‘it’ he should build is a baseball diamond and the ‘he’ will be Shoeless Joe Jackson, an expelled baseball player his father used to tell him stories about. To build this field would mean destroying some of his crop, a huge financial risk. To not build is more logical and safe, but would only leave Ray with a huge what-if. He realizes a part of him that fears aging, turning into his father and never doing anything great. What if his father ignored voices? It’s a huge leap of faith, but building this diamond could be his only chance.

So Ray and Annie decide to go for it and build a beautiful baseball diamond right next to their corn and house. Now everyone in this little Iowa farm town thinks they’re crazy. It takes a long time, and just when the financial issues are rising up, Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) shows up to play ball. Soon, more dead ball players come out of the field, but only the people who believe can see them.

As the financial issues become more serious, the voice returns, with Ray and Annie interpreting that it wants Ray to take Terrance Mann (James Earl Jones), a controversial author of the sixties, to a baseball game. When you’ve done this much at the whim of a disembodied voice, you’ve got to see it through to the end.

Now, I know that some people look at Field of Dreams as just a baseball movie, it’s not. Baseball just happens to be the physical theme that can be passed down from generations, with stories and action that can make anyone feel in their prime. It works well to bring out a simple past-time. The film does recognize that baseball is not the most important thing a man can do in his life, even if it is his dream. When we meet Dr. Archibald “Moonlight” Graham (Burt Lancaster), we understand how close he was to his dream of becoming a baseball star. He only played for five minutes in the majors and went on to become a doctor. For Ray, he finds this to be a tragedy, to come so close to a dream and back down to a normal vocation. Graham puts a larger perspective on his decision, saying, “Son, if I’d only gotten to be a doctor for five minutes… now that would have been a tragedy.” Baseball is a dream life, those five minutes on the field should be cherished, but the world does not revolve around it.

While this idea is mystical, intriguing and wonderful one thing really irks me…does this idea only apply to baseball? Could there be another person somewhere hearing voices and having visions to build a giant greenhouse where dead gardeners will show up and his/her dead and estranged parent will show up and they’ll bond by watering some flowers together? I don’t mean that to sound condescending, but rather hopeful. Why should there only be a personal heaven built for baseball players? How many people have ignored the voices and left the rest of us hanging in the non-exclusive parts of heaven? If you ever hear a voice telling you to build an outdoor theater showing Raider of the Lost Ark with a never ending supply of beer and chicken wings, don’t ignore it and let me say thank you in advance.